I'm thinking it's time to upgrade from my 14" Delta bandsaw with riser block. I think the Delta is warped, I can't apply enough pressure by hand on the handwheel to properly tension the blade, if I torque on it with a wrench the top wheel hits the sheet metal case, probably not good.

I've been doing more re-sawing for bookmatched panels and making thick veneers and would like to be able to more shaping of logs prior to putting them on the lathe. Having a bigger table and a much more substantial and readily adjustable fence would be big goals of an upgrade. I'd like a lot more power for resawing. Finally, good dust collection and a brake would be very nice to have.

I have not put hands on any of the saws that I'm thinking about at this point.

Since I'm cheap I've been watching Craigslist religiously for a good used machine, but I'm not sure which direction to go. There have been several recent listings for older (green) Powermatic machines ranging from $1500-2500. There have been a couple SCM MM20 machines in the $3500-4000 range. There have been Grob saws that are older but look substantial in the $2K range. There was a Centauro a couple weeks ago that looked interesting. Not yet seen anything from Felder/Hammer.

It seems that going from the Powermatic to one of the Euro saws will jump the price by $1-2K, more if I go for a new European model. At this point I have a fairly strong prejudice towards a North American or European saw (I'm in love with my MiniMax J/P). Everything I've heard about the vacillating service from Laguna has put me off that line. For those of you who might have had the chance to use both sorts of saws, what are the tradeoffs?